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So, What's a Book?

I just finished reading and listening to Steve Jobs book by Walter Isaacson. It is an epic book. No questions about that. It also gives you a glimpse inside a genius who we know as Steve Jobs.

But I am not writing about the review of the book or Steve Jobs for that matter. I am talking about the "Book" as an object or the medium through which we gain the information.

Just last week, there was an interesting announcement by Amazon that the future kindle book reader will be HTML5 based and so will be the books. It's an amazing announcement and that too coming from Amazon who never recognized a standard ePUB format.

So what does this announcement means for the books? As I was reading the book, I could see what a "Book" would be in future with HTML5 at the core of it. As I was reading the book, there were so many real world characters which made such a huge impact in digital world. I wanted to know about those people. I ended up searching for them on Wikipedia and Google through a different device. The product demonstration from 1980s could be an embedded video from YouTube right where it makes the announcement. The songs of Bob Dylan that were once forgotten by me, could be listened right away and/or be bought right from the book. This was juts one book. My mind was racing as to how the kids books can be developed. A HTML5 video and animation included all along with text will make it that much more compelling for kids to enjoy the books again! The "How-To" books can include a video of each steps on your tablet device. A programming book or any software book that includes sample programs, can be executed right from the book itself to help a student better understand about the technology. A house re-modelling magazine or book can even include videos of how to organize house. The mind did go once to how a "Playboy" magazine will look like and then I stopped my imagination.

But seriously. What is a Book? Is it a digital medium where you can get information at your fingertips? Can Book go viral like a video goes right now on Twitter or Facebook? I am excited of the prospects. Lets see where we see Books in the next 5 years.

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